Night of Blades
by UnseenandForget
Summary: Within a nation filled to the brim with corrupt nobles and suffering peasants, how will an honor bound knight, an apprentice of the Kaleidoscope and the one who seeks to save everyone fair within it? One things for sure, with their swords and magic, a revolution is about to occur.
1. First Night: A Lost Blade

Well as a writer this would be my first fanfiction featuring Fate/Stay Night and Akame ga Kiru, to finally express an idea that has bugging me for months. I hope you all would enjoy.

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><p>"Its an Earth Dragon!""Run!"<p>

The moment the screams started, Emiya Shirou had already started moving. Right as the Earth Dragon opened its mouth to roar, he traced his favored swords, Kanshou and Bakuya into his hands and took the chance to deliver a series of powerful strikes.

SLASH

The A Ranked Danger Beast crumpled to the ground. A single moment was all it took to strike the eight vital points and thrust his blades into the beast's heart, finishing it instantly. A modified version of his Nine Lives Blade Works for the married blades. Staring at the fallen dragon, he let out a sigh of frustration. Once again, he had overestimated the enemy and underestimated the changes to his body. Shirou suspected it was due to the fact that this world's age of the gods never actually ended and with his body being changed to match that… Lets just say that he could probably match a servant equally in physical stats now.

"That was amazing! You took down that Earth Dragon all by yourself!"

"And you made it seem so easy as well!"

Listening to the praises of the awestruck soldiers made Shirou rub the back of his head sheepishly, he didn't actually mean to show off his skills so much. He just panicked when he saw the soldiers being attacked by the Earth Dragon and rushed forward to save them, severely overestimating the Danger Beast in the process and using one of his more powerful moves despite not needing it. It was a serious blunder to him at least, and as such he didn't quite understand why the soldiers were praising him so much.

"No, its thanks to my teigu over here, it grants me some pretty powerful abilities and can dematerialize when I don't need it. See," Dismissing the blades in his hands as he thought about the powerful Mystic Codes he found in this world. Teigu, otherwise known as Imperial Arms, were ancient and powerful relics forged by the First Emperor's servants and possessed varied abilities, each strong enough to match Noble Phantasms in their own right, and could only be wielded by the strongest of warriors. They were said to be somewhat sentient, but Shirou had never seen one for himself and had no way of confirming the information.

"To have the skill and strength to possess one of the teigu…" The soldier muttered in a half coherent voice, before snapping into a deep bow "It's a great honor to meet you!" "Eh…hehe.." Shirou sweated nervously while giving himself a mental facepalm, it definitely wasn't the best idea to claim Kanshou and Bakuya as teigu, but he really didn't have any other way of covering up his magecraft. As far as he was aware, magic didn't exist or was well hidden under the surface; Shirou did not want to risk drawing the wrath of any possible magical organizations for revealing magecraft and his hypnosis still sucked even several years after the Grail War and tutelage. He just hoped that the soldiers didn't start spreading stories about his skills or report it to their superiors, it would definitely lead to a huge pile of trouble and reveal a few secrets he wanted to keep while on his search for Rin.

"How could we ever repay you for us?"The soldier continued, not rising from his bow. This led Shirou to a pause, normally he would just try to let the matter go and continue himself, but in this case he was in a new world with no knowledge of the terrain and landscape and would simply get lost if he tried to navigate without maps to search for Tohsaka… He needed more information of the country he was in first, and the best place to get it would be none other than the capital city itself.

"Then could you take me to the capital city please, I kinda got lost travelling there and have no idea how to proceed."

"The Imperial… Capital? What… do you expect to find there?"The hesitation in the soldiers voice caught Shirou's attention, the villages he had passed through suffered from poverty and disease, but the villagers held to the belief that if they made it big in the capital they could help their villages. And unfortunately, the only way for the poor villagers to do so would be to become soldiers. If a regular foot soldier had a fear or dislike of the Imperial Capital… the corruption he suspected was present may have been more prevalent then he expected.

"I was just planning on meeting a close friend of mine and getting some supplies there." Shirou answered carefully, choosing his words carefully in case he set the soldier off.

He visibly relaxed before climbing back onto his cart, "Well hop on then, our destination is the Imperial Capital!"

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><p>The Imperial Capital, the seat of power for the emperor and the embodiment of the power that the great Empire possess. Where money flows and dreams are realized, where legends are made and heroes are born. Spanning entire leagues in size, the Capital would be the paradise that many dreamed of, the life of luxury they sought easily obtainable upon this city of dreams.<p>

"At least… Those dreams could have been fulfilled maybe a hundred years ago. The corruption in this city has spread so deep and far that those dreams are nigh unachievable" Shirou mused silently. The signs were incredibly obvious to those who knew what to for, the giant wall that separated the rich from the poor an obvious discrimination of those lower in the social ladder. The desperation in the eyes of the merchants as their goods remained completely untouched with the ever present rumors of their goods being of low quality and over priced. The dead bodies upon the grounds of the slums that many just seemed to ignore, the jeering laughter of the nobles that drove past in fancy jeweled carriages when they looked upon the sick and homeless… It was no wonder the amount of hatred of the lower echelons held against a Prime Minister, who was widely accepted as the source of all the corruption within the Empire. Hell, Shirou himself couldn't stop himself from holding that grudge against the Minister, his ideals of wanting to save everyone still burned bright within him, he was not willing nor ready to become the broken Counter Guardian Archer had turned out as, losing all faith when his ideals betrayed him. No, he understood perfectly that not everyone could be saved, but he would be damned if he wouldn't try, and he would lament and grieve on his failures but never regret. It was what broke Archer, and he would not allow it to do the same to him.

_I have no regrets, this is the only path_.

That would been one of the key differences between him and Archer, and Shirou would made sure it stayed that way. Looking up to see where his feet had carried him, Shirou found himself staring up the entrance to the Imperial Barracks as eager hopefuls filled in a rush to enlist within the army. Rin had told him that Archer had actually joined the JSDF at one point, but the lack of compatible equipment and need to actively follow orders had him to leave a few weeks into active service and become the vigilant he was well known for. Shirou idly considered joining the Imperial Army himself but threw the thought out of his mind, he would only encounter the same problems as Archer and it was highly likely the Military Commanders were also corrupted and would lead the army to commit heinous deeds he could condone for the sake of luxuries. No, he first had to get more information on the situation at hand before taking on such drastic actions. But only problem was how… rumors and eavesdropping on conversations in bars and taverns could only take him so far, he needed some reliable contacts to get him the information he needed. 'Arghh…' Resisting the urge to throw his arms up and just give up, Shirou rubbed his brow tiredly, the situation was just getting too much for him. Being thrown into the Kaleidoscope and having your body altered was not pleasant, and having to spend several days scouring the forest for signs of civilization meant he was unable to indulge in the activity that relaxed him the most, cooking. At the rate things were going, Shirou didn't think he would get access to the proper facilities for a long time. Suddenly he felt a surge of sympathy for Rin, being constanly exposed to the arrogant nobles of the Clock Tower and having to keep up a fake smile for them and the amount of frustration she must feel… No wonder she put so much force into the Tantric Rituals she needed to support Saber. Speaking of which… he needed to find the duo quickly in order to have a chance to get back to his home dimension, but he had no idea where the two of them had ended when they were thrown into this dimension along with him and to find them he needed in..formation….

'ARGHH' Shirou really did throw his hands up and collapse against a nearby wall in frustration. He really _really_ wished that the little magus was here, Shirou missed both her company and the fact that she could have easily gotten all the information they needed easily. 'Im overeacting… Theres no point dwelling on idle thoughts, I should get to work if I want to go home anytime soon,' Shirou let out a sigh and moved off the wall, ready to leave until a feminine voice stopped him in his tracks.

" Why are you so depressed? Is something troubling you young man?"

Shirou turned his head round only to meet one of the largest pairs of breasts he had ever seen in his life. 'Big… No I can't do this, Rin will kill me if I ever think about another woman' Shirou thought frantically with his eye twitching furiously. Mistaking his silence for acceptance, the woman continued her speech

" Drawn by dreams of making it big within the Imperial Capital, you came all the way from the country to work, only to fail and lose the job you have right?"

Shirou finally snapped out his stupor and took a good look at the woman. Blonde and clipped hair reaching to her neck, leaving two bangs to frame her face. Rather well endowed, Shirou pushed that thought of out his head, and wearing the kind of outfit Shirou expected to see on dancers; a piece of cloth wrapped around her chest and another piece secured by a belt, along a skirt that exposed the front of her toned legs. The woman was smiling quite nicely, but he noticed a certain twitch in her lips that would have escaped his notice unless he was forced to constantly watch for facial expressions to figure out if anyone was trying to deceive him.

'Shes up to something…' Was the rampant thought in his mind. He did not wish to get caught up in any more problematic situations, he didn't think he could take the stress and decided to play it safe.

"No, its just that I dredged up some old memories from my childhood and spaced out, nothing as serious as that."

"Ara, you're not from the country?" The woman asked pointedly, her eyes widening just slightly in curiosity.

"I am, but I just came to the capital to meet some old acquaintances."

"I see… Well, you have to hope that those acquaintances of yours are safe. Ive been hearing nasty rumors about country boys vanishing off the streets, never to be seen again."The woman whispered in a solemn tone, the atmosphere turning gloomy as Shirou unknowingly tensed. Was there a serial killer on the loose or a slave ring that primarily sold country boys? This warranted investigation, as someone who wished to save people, Emiya Shirou could not allow that to continue. The question was… Shirou turned a suspicious eye unto the blonde woman that came before him, why is she telling me this information. The tense silence continued for a few minutes, neither of the two budging an inch from their respective positions.

"Well, gotta run, bye bye" She announced suddenly, before turning on her heel and running off, removing the gloomy atmosphere that penetrated the air for so long. Shirou didn't let himself relax though, he knew his priorities now. Finding Rin and Saber was a far off task for now, the empire too large to consider starting a search without any information. No, that could wait. For now, the target that Emiya Shirou hunted would be the perpetrator of the missing people, and along with the blonde woman that just left…

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><p>After night had fallen, Shirou rested his back against a wall not too far from the main road. He had spent the last few hours scouring the city to familiarize himself with it and search for information on his targets. While he had been completely unable to find any clues as to the identity of the unknown kidnapper which was to be expected, they had covered their tracks well to be able to get away with over twenty kidnappings. But Shirou had discovered the kidnapper had made a mistake that he capitalized on to bring him a step closer to the kidnapper. A homeless man had seen one of the missing people interacting with a female noble before climbing into the carriage she rode, riding off in the general direction of the Cowen Manor. And the road he rested upon was the same one the homeless had seen the man leave with the noble.<p>

'Its highly likely that the Cowen family have a connection to the kidnapper. Being a noble family, its more likely that they would run a slave ring as compared to merely outright murdering.' Shirou thought with narrowed eyes, several thoughts running through his head ' Since the suspect was riding a carriage, its definitely not any of the servants, and leaves the main family as prime suspects. The Cowens are a family of three, the Duke and Duchess Cowen along with the heir Aria, so the question is who and why are they doing it.' Sparing a glance towards the slums, he was reminded of the blonde woman he met earlier in the day. She was known as Leone throughout the slums and was extremely infamous for swindling many gang members of all the money and having no tolerance for injustice, often defending prostitutes from the worst of the rabble and saving children from any abusive nobles within the area. She was also suspected of having a teigu and being a part of the Revolutionary Army; a rebellion centered around defeating and taking the corrupt head of state and replacing him with a proper leader of their choice. Having focused their efforts on raising their numbers meant they weren't high on the Empire's priorities and allowed them to perform covert assassinations upon several of the more corrupt members of the society. Shirou had a good feeling about them and planned on acting more in support of the rebellion. Still, it begged the question, why had Leone approached him? He had barely been in this world for a week and hadn't done anything special or worthy of attention, so there would have been no way for them to find out about him. So, why?

Hearing the rumbling of a carriage approaching, Shirou quickly pushed the thoughts aside and dropped his head, squeezing his eyes shut, focusing on acting out his planned cover story of being a homeless man from the country. Well, the story was mostly true… he didn't have a home after all and Fuyuki wasn't a major city and could be considered part of the countryside… but that was beside the point as Shirou heard a female voice call out.

"Stop."

The carriage grinded to a stop as the drivers pulled hard on the reins, its wooden clacking nosily against the stone paved road. "Again, my lady?" A male voice this time, most likely one of the drivers that led the horses, Shirou noted pretending to blearily open his eyes. " You know I can't help it, it's my nature" The same female voice, which he now attached to a blonde haired girl wearing high quality fine clothing, responded cheerfully before climbing off the carriage and running towards him. Finally choosing to raise his head, Shirou looked into the blue eyes of Aria Cowen who simply smiled back at him.

"If you have nowhere to sleep, would you like to stay at my home?"

The simple request immediately raised alarm bells in his head as Shirou managed to see a hint of insanity and sadistic glee when he looked into her eyes. Mentally filing it as another point to the Cowens as suspects, he schooled his expression into a more neutral look before answering.

"I don't have any money…"

"You wouldn't be sleeping here if you did, would you?"

One of the men accompanying decided to speak up, and with a slight undertone of nervousness lining it "Lady Aria cant ignore people like you. You should accept her generousity."

"So what would you like to do?" Aria continued without missing a beat, the smile never leaving her face and the glint in her eye ever growing.

"Well… It beats staying on the streets for sure." Shirou replied embarrassedly, turning his head to the side and mentally breathing a sigh of relief as Aria seemed to accept his words and hopped back to the carriage and started waving him over. 'Thank you Rin for forcing me to take those acting classes' Shirou muttered a silent prayer before picking himself up and walking over to the carriage, his golden eyes narrowing and picking up a sense of steel normally found within blades.

'Aria Cowen, if you truly are the perpetrator, you will answer to your crimes.'


	2. First Night: A Blade of Cold Steel

**Well this shall be the second chapter of my fanfiction, Night of Blades. I'm actually surprised that I got positive reviews on the first chapter seeing how I thought the writing was rather choppy at points. But anyway to answer some of the questions posed, for Tatsumi what has happened to him will become very apparent in this chapter. Yes, I do plan on replacing him with Shirou as otherwise I am going to have quite a bit of trouble writing out the scenes I plan on having with the addition of the Shirou, Saber and Rin. As to the kaleido stick, well if I do put it in I plan on revealing the existence of magecraft to at least the Night Raid so the need to disguise it as a sentient teigu probably won't be necessary. As to how he can use NLBW, my reasoning is simply that since I slightly modified the events of unlimited blade works to have a few elements of heavens feel and the ability to use NLBW is one of them, considering this is about ten years after the grail war, he managed to develop a different version of NLBW that is far weaker than the original but does the same things. **

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><p>Entering the gates of the Cowen manor brought an unpleasant chill to Shirou, as he could see the varying expressions of pity the guards looked at him with, and at this point he was almost certain the Cowens were the culprits of the whole incident. The gates shut ominously behind him, and the sound of the lock sliding in let him harden his resolve as he warily observed the area around him for potential ambush locations, careful not to let any of his tension show. He scanned the gate behind him, and saw the records of many people from the country entering the mansion, but not a single trace of them exiting from the front gate.<p>

'I don't have any actual weapons on me so if anything goes wrong I'll be forced to use Tracing. One wrong move would lead me to having to kill the entire populace of guards in order to escape and conceal the existence of magecraft.' Shirou reminded himself grimly as he was escorted down a long hallway covered with the portraits of sceneries and famous figures within the Empire, taking the opportunity to discreetly cast Structural Grasp in order to get a general blueprint of the manor in the likely possibility of battle against the guards; advanced knowledge of the terrain had led to victories for the one who knew it better, and why it was not a good thing having to fight on an enemy territory – it was very likely to lead to defeat if the enemy knew how to use the terrain against you.

'I'm at a disadvantage here, outnumbered and without any support.' Shirou noting the presence of eight guards in the room alone as he walked into the lounge that the Duke and Duchess Cowen were resting in, and another thirty scattered in the mansion proper along with an unknown number more throughout the mansion grounds.

"Ahh, Aria's brought someone in again." The duke voiced amusedly, no doubt portraying a kind grandfatherly image for those pool souls who fell for the scam, but the insane glint he held in his eyes was the exact same as Aria's, promising pain and suffering to those who saw it.

"What a habit" The duchess replied in the same amused tone "I wonder how many it's been now." Her eyes shared the same insane glint, and confirmed Shirou's suspicions. The entire Cowen was directly involved in capture of people that arrived fresh from the country, most likely offering them a place of residence when they found them sleeping outside and bringing them into the mansion to serve their purposes and to sell them as slaves. The history of the chair had proven it to him, out of the 268 people who sat in the chair before him, over a hundred of them were from the country. The insane glint those eyes held, combined with the fact that of so many countrymen came to this mansion and never left… They were most likely dead or sold off to others already.

'These kind of people…' Shirou gritted his teeth as he pretended to look in awe before giving an deep bow to the noble family. " Thank you for bringing me in, I shall never forget this kindness." It was rather ironic to speaking such words of gratitude while internally plotting on how to murder the same people, but Shirou pushed past such meaningless thoughts as he settled himself into a plush armchair, picking up a teacup and raising it to his lips, but not drinking a drop until he confirmed that there were no harmful substances with a quick Structural Grasp. Swirling the contents within his mouth, he thought the tea tasted rather bland for a noble family, but plastered a smile on his face as he praised its taste, eliciting several laughs from the nobles around him; out of his foolishness or genuinely didn't matter to Shirou as long as they didn't catch on to his act.

" So why did you come to the Capital Shirou?" Aria asked, posing an innocent question; she couldn't have her victim becoming too suspicious early, no she wanted to play this game where she and her parents pretended to be kind hearted nobles, it was just too fun. Beside the cattle was meaningless anyway, being mere toys for them to play with " Was it that you wanted to gain fame and fortune within this beautiful city?" Hiding the devious grin on her lips, Aria couldn't wait to hear what kind of story this one had, she could simply use it to taunt him later, completely unaware that the cattle she had in mind was sharpening its claws and preparing for her death.

"No, its not that." Shirou answered honestly for this one question as the two sides continued the charade for another twenty minutes, with one side convinced on having the life story of the other, and the second having valuable insight into the corruption festering throughout the Empire. 'It seems that the corruption primarily stems from the Prime Minister _Honest, _how ridiculous. But, with open crime on the streets and being surrounded by enemies on three fronts while in the midst of a civil war means that no one will be trying to stop the suffering that these people face, and the situation is only going get worse if nobles like the Cowen are commonplace.' Shirou mused as he stepped into the room that had been prepared for him. After quick check of the room and setting up several bounded fields that would prevent anything from giving him away, he sat on the bed began plotting the best way to silently assassinate the Cowens. 'The Duke and Duchess share a room in the third floor, left wing on the manor while Aria's room is on the opposite wing.' Shirou didn't realize how much of an advantage knowing the history of the objects he grasped until he started actively scanning the battlefield in advance and knowing its history had spoke volumes about how he could use it to his advantage or easily track his targets by seeing when and where their feet touched the ground. It certainly made Dead Apostle hunts go much more easily when he could trace the exact path the damn bloodsuckers took. But on the contrary, it was utter torture when he saw how many countrymen innocently entered this mansion, believing it to be a safe haven for them and thanking the kind heartedness of those nobles, only to be dragged off to an unknown location and never seen again.

'Sniping is not available to me in this situation, it's probably best to kill them directly with my blades and fight my way out. But,' Shirou glanced at the one of the patrolling guards from the window 'the guards were probably blackmailed into keeping quiet for the sake of their jobs, I don't want to kill them unless absolutely necessary. So I need to keep this quick and clean, and minimize the number of people I have to kill. I will not endanger the lives of innocents.' Shirou clenched his fist, he would not touch upon the path of the Shura, he absolutely refused to do so. Looking up at full moon in the night sky, he noted that it was a full moon, its position meaning it was almost midnight. The perfect time to strike.

Nodding to himself and finalizing the plan he had in mind, Shirou stepped towards the doorway and traced a pair of nameless blades into his hands. There was no need to soil Kanshou and Bakuya with the blood of those scum, the married blades weren't meant for that form of backstabbing assassination but rather frontline combat, where the true glory of the blade could shine. 'Besides, Kanshou and Bakuya are impractical for assassination anyway' Shirou thought to himself, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves and enter what others called his battle mode. Where he completely shuts the Emiya Shirou of the past and takes on the persona that Archer, the red knight had, a cold cruel killing machine and ruthlessly efficient. While he hated to admit being anything close to that bastard, Shirou couldn't deny that he had been picking some of the character traits the servant; the pleasure he took in playing word games with Rin, the cold calculative person he become in battle, the complete disregard for his own safety…-No, that wasn't exactly right. Emiya Shirou was willing to put his own life at risk for others, but he was not willing to die for them. Rin and Saber held his heart, and he held theirs. This mutual bond was the reason that no matter what, he could not bring himself to lay his life down for anyone other the two of them. The fact that his death would bring unbearable sorrow and drive them into a depression to the black haired magus and blonde haired servant he loved was unthinkable to him, and after many years of arguments had finally come to a compromise with his ideals. He would focus his efforts on a personal hero for both Tohsaka Rin and Arthuria Pendragon and helping those that he could, putting his life at risk, but never_ ever _dying for any reason. There's no telling what the duo would do to him if he actually did, 'Knowing Rin, she's most likely going to use the Kaleidoscope to find someone who knows how to use the Third Magic and make them revive me so Saber and her can torture me to death before resurrecting me again.' Shirou thought with an amused chuckle.

'Its time.' He straightened his back and tightened his grip on his swords. 'The primary targets are the Duke and Duchess Cowen. The secondary target is the Cowen heir-' suddenly he heard the sounds of screaming and one of the glass windows shattering to pieces. 'What?!' Shirou busted the door to his room down and glanced out the window. Outside, on a congregation of wires stood the silhouettes of six figures that were easily recognizable in the moonlight.

"Night Raid" His voice whispered, penetrating the silence that filled the night. The faces of a group of famous killers that slayed a number of powerful political figures within the Empire. The black haired and red eyed Akame, said to be so fast that no one could ever see her movements and best known for the killing of an entire squad of guards before they had even a chance to react. The 100 Man Slayer Bulat, renowned for his skills in wielding a spear and being a defector from the Imperial Military that slayed over a hundred skilled soldiers that blocked his escape that time. The cold and heartless Sheele, wielding a pair of scissors that could cut through anything, famous for cutting through a titanium reinforced vault in order to kill a target who had locked himself inside. His eyes widened when he saw the familiar blonde that had greeted him earlier in the day, Leone as she was known to the public. 'She was part of the Night Raid huh…' Shirou thought neutrally, the momentary shock that passed thorough him forcibly suppressed. It wasn't the time to question such things, focus on the objective he told himself. "I don't recognize the last two, but the Night Raid seems to be targeting the Cowens, but their objective is unclear. Whatever their up to doesn't matter to me, if they kill the Cowens then all I have to do is to locate wherever the kidnapped people are being are being held." Shirou muttered as he sped through the corridors, careful to keep out of view of the windows. "I've scanned the mansion and found no secret rooms or passages leading elsewhere, so…" Slowing to a stop as he reached the back exit of the mansion, pushing the doors open and hiding behind the doorway. Detecting no presences and seeing none of the Night Raid members having moved from their vantage point, he took the chance to climb into a nearby tree and checked that the foliage would hide him from view. Peeking out from his cover, he could see his objective in the distance; the warehouse that the Cowens claimed stored their merchandise for trade.

'Ten meters away.' Shirou noted as he waited for an opportunity to come when he could enter the warehouse without being caught by the assassins. The eerie silence raised the tension in the air dramatically, both Shirou and the Night Raid waiting for something to happen. Watching the panicking guards throughout the mansion as they found the dead noblewoman, Shirou watched as three of them burst out the front entrance, ready to engage the Night Raid. 'They're just going to die.' Shirou shook as his head sadly as true to his words, two of the guards were slaughtered instantly as Akame and Bulat leaped off the wires, not even managing to get near the duo. The final guard had attempted to flee after seeing his comrades slaughtered, but barely managed to make it three steps before a concentrated laser of some sort went through his head, courtesy of the pinked haired one who was wielding some sort of gun that resembled a sniper rifle more than anything.

Mentally reviewing the battle in his mind Shirou noted that Akame primarily used her speed to take down enemies and most likely used a form of poisoned weaponry seeing how the guard collapsed far too quickly after being struck by her blade. He couldn't use Structural Grasping from a distance of thirty meters away, but Bulat's spear or armor was most likely his teigu given the odd design it possessed and for the twin tailed one… The rifle was definitely a teigu, but the fact that it fired lasers that seemed to be made to concentrated But the thoughts left his mind when he noticed the presence of Aria being escorted by a pair of guards running thorough the grounds, heading towards the general direction of the warehouse. 'Shit,' Shirou cursed as he recognized the guards as the same ones that drove the carriage, with Akame having noticed and speeding towards them, they were going to die. While Aria dying was definitely part of his plans, he didn't want the pair of guards to die seeing how they were most likely blackmailed into following along with the crimes. 'Screw this' Shirou decided, forgoing stealth as he broke into an outright dash towards the guards and Aria, he didn't care if it put him onto the target list of the Night Raid, he wouldn't let those guards die – they were innocents in this crime and didn't deserve the penalty of death for it.

The changes to his body had allowed him to just match Akame's speed, and being closer to the trio had allowed him to arrive a few seconds before Akame – and just in time to fend off her initial assault against the guards. If she was surprised, Akame didn't show any signs of it and merely jumped back, changing her grip to a dual handed one. "Not a target" She stated in a rather in a rather robotic tone, having only a hint of steely emotion that lay within. Ignoring the relieved sigh that Aria gave, Shirou replied without a trace of hesitation in his voice. "Maybe not, but I can't let you kill the innocents here."

"There are no innocents here. If you get in my way, I'll kill you." Akame stated, the blank expression never leaving her face for a second.

"I don't want to fight you, but I won't allow you to kill the guards behind me." Shirou tightened his grip on the blades, a nameless pair of straight edged blades. He wasn't looking to make an enemy out of the Night Raid and Aria deserved to die anyway. The guards had both fled at this point with the girl being trapped with the warehouse to her back and Akame right in front of her, they weren't taking their chances and she didnt give a second glance towards them, her target was the girl and while the guards were guilty, they weren't important in the long run. Now the only thing standing in the way was the red haired swordsman…

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><p>This was the scene Leone walked into, as she brushed off the imaginary filth on her body.<p>

"That's weird, Akame hasn't killed them yet?" She wondered aloud before taking a good look at her targets and involuntarily tensed, it was the same redhead man she met earlier in the day, the one that her instincts screamed at her as being closer to a sword than human. She had tried poking information out of him in her usual style, but he managed to dodge all her questions and that put him a mark above the usual idiots she scammed. And now he was facing off against Akame… Leone was sure this wasn't going to end well, but for which side she didn't know. 'Jeez, how troublesome' She sighed and palmed her face 'What should I even do now' Leone wondered as she scratched her head.

Meanwhile Shirou relaxed slightly when the guards went out of sight, Aria was right behind him and seemed to be confident in the belief that he would protect her, and he was about shatter those delusions. "Your name is Akame right," He called out, which she merely gave a simple nod to, silently wondering what he was up to; was he trying to negotiate?

"Then Akame, if your target is solely Cowen Aria, then I'm willing to back off and let you kill her." Shirou stated in an emotionless tone, causing Aria to let out a shocked gasp.

"What… what are you saying Shirou!? Are you going to just let this woman kill me!" Her words were filled with shock and anger, was this cattle serious? She had treated it nicely and even offered him a place from the cold nights! She needed it to protect her after those stupid useless guards had fled at the first sign of danger.

"Yes." His reply was short and curt, and as blunt as a sledgehammer. Aria felt her world come crashing around her with those words, if… if the pig didn't defend her with its life, then she would die, die like one of those pieces of meat from the country that were no better than cattle. No…NO! She utterly refused to let that happen! Aria didn't realize she had dropped her act started outright screaming at Shirou; she refused to die like a dog!

"YOU UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF MEAT! I GAVE YOU A SHELTER FROM THE COLD NIGHTS, TREATING YOU SO NICELY AND GIVING YOU THE BEST FOOD AND DRINKS MONEY COULD BUY! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!"

"Even though you planned on having me killed or sold off immediately afterwards?" The dead cold reply made Aria freeze in her tracks, how on the earth did he find out about that. She was sure her act was perfect and didn't drop any hints on what she planning, neither did her parents make any mistakes. Unless, unless …one of the servants betrayed her and sold her out?! No, impossible, her family hold their livelihoods in their hands and there's no other way for them to get any other job. Shirou merely watched as Aria's expression turned from abject horror to intense contemplation, before once again putting on a fake smile.

" What are you saying Shirou, I would never do that to do that to you," Aria stated nervously as she backed into the wall, the look Shirou was giving her was the same as cold unflinching steel, more than enough to break an average person. It was the look of some kind of monster, something that the human mind could never even comprehend. And Aria Cowen never ever felt so terrified in the entirety of her short life.

It was when Leone decided come out and put the final nail into the terrified girl's coffin, she was utterly sick of listening to her bullshit. "That's probably not exactly what she was planning young man." Leone voiced out as she approached the trio.

"Why are you here," The ever expressionless Akame asked.

"We still have time right? I rather like this guy and it would be a shame if you kill him" Leone responded cheerfully, giving Shirou a wink as she did so, which he merely acknowledged with a nod. Shirou wasn't exactly sure on her intentions and wasn't about to let him guard down, staring passively as Leone stepped towards the solid metal door that separated the warehouse from the rest of the world. Activating Lionelle she ripped through it with ease, revealing its contents to the gathered party.

It was a torture chamber. Filled the dead and decaying corpses of many who had been tortured to death within. Each of their bodies were naked and strung up, covered from head in bruises and wounds, that few that were unlucky enough to survive moaning and crawling within the cells they had been trapped inside, coughing up blood at irregular intervals. Their wide bloodshot eyes showed the complete horror and despair each of them felt; they had watched as those around them had literally been skinned alive, had their limbs crushed by heavy maces and subject to various forms of humiliation and torture. The worse fact was probably how Shirou knew exactly what happened to them, the various sets of torture equipment scattered around the room provided an exact history of how the torture was carried out, how each of the Cowens took the sadistic pleasure of torturing each of them and poisoning before leaving them for dead, how each of the prisoners suffered and begged for death to take them…. Shirou bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, suddenly reminded of the day of the fire, of how people all around died from the black mud that split out from the Holy Grail… His hands gripped his blades so hard that the hilts started to form cracks and he barely registered Leone telling him about how the Cowens lured people from the countryside and played with their lives. He had seen one of the prisoners heavily shackled and mauled to death, a blade lying just out of his grasp. The blade had told him part of the history that boy, who bore the name Tatsumi and came to the capital along with his comrades Ieyasu and Sayo. How Aria promised them a home and brought them to the mansion, where their food was drugged and they were brought to this room. How his two greatest friends were tortured to death right before his eyes, simply because Aria was jealous that Sayo had smoother hair than her… His soul consuming rage and sorrow as he failed to reach his blade by mere inches… Dying filled with the regret of being unable to avenge his friends…  
>At least in the case of maguses, if they did human experimentation they at least had a reason to do so, unlike the Cowens who merely revealed in the pain and suffering they caused to others…<p>

Aria had taken the chance to try and make a break for it, not before being caught by Leone and pinned to the ground in a submissive hold. "Please Shirou I didn't know this place existed" She pleaded desperately, staring in wide eyed horror as Shirou slowly stepped towards her, his eyes shadowed by his hair. "Would you believe the words of these liars-" Those were the last words she ever spoke as Shirou swung his blade, cleanly decapitating her head in a single blow. It rolled several times before coming to a stop in an upright position, the expression of terror eternally set upon her face. Shirou sighed, his anger leaving him as he threw the blades into the forest, making sure they had enough prana to last another five hours before dispersing.

"I never want to see those blades again." He whispered, lost to the world as memories of the fire plagued him. The whole scenario reminded him far too much of that fake priest, Kotomine Kirei, and how he found the orphans trapped within the basement, who were used to fuel the existence of the arrogant King of Heroes ,trapped in a never ending cycle of pain and suffering. Leone on the other hand, was rather impressed with him.

'A perfect kill, quick and clean. He probably hated the girl with every fiber of his being, enough to not want to see the blades ever again. Even then, there wasn't an ounce of hesitation in his actions, he killed that bitch without a second thought. Moreover, he has the bravery and ruthlessness that so many others lack and the look in his eyes…' Leone shuddered 'It felt like cold steel, absolutely perfect for the job.' She smiled widely; it seems that the Night Raid would be getting a new member today.

"Ne, Akame. Why don't we take this guy with us? He seems perfect for the job." Without waiting for either Akame or Shirou to respond, she started dragging him by the collar to the other members and started chattering happily, ignoring Shirou silent protests. "Our secret base is always shorthanded. And you fit the bill perfectly, Shirou! You have the skill, courage and ruthlessness needed, don't you agree Akame?"

"Wait a minute; I need to cremate the bodies. Pay their bodies' final respects." Shirou's comment didn't Leone in the slightest as she turned her head back to smile at him, "I'll ignite that warehouse later so don't worry about it."

"Where are you taking me?" Shirou asked in a rather foul mood, not happy with the current events. It probably ranked somewhere within the top twenty worst days of his life, with the first being the day where he met Zelretch and was thrown into a parallel world where the happenings scarred him for life and he refused to even think about it.

"To meet the rest of course!" She chirped, picking up his body in bridal style carry before hopping on a nearby rooftop, before being greeted by a loud YOUR LATE by the pinkett and continued into a question of what the 'thing' in her hands was. Shirou's eyebrow's twitched for a second before suppressing it, considering he was closer to a sword than a human, it probably wasn't too far off the truth. Leone's response to it was simply "Our new friend!" and dropping him onto the ground and joining the others upon the wires.

Looking up from his prone position Shirou raised an eyebrow at her sudden declaration and Leone frowned at the confused look he gave her. "Didn't I tell you? From now on, your one of us. Congratulations on becoming a member of the Night Raid!" She shouted loudly, pumping a fist into the air.

"Am I even allowed to reject that offer?" Shirou gave a long suffering sigh, already knowing the response. 'One thing just leads to another…' He cursed as he picked himself up. Akame simply shook her head; her eyes holding a small amount of pity before answering "Give up. Once Leone sets her mind on something, she won't let it go" Wearing a Cheshire cat grin Leone patted Akame on her head "As expected, you know me so well… Bulatcchi I leave him to you!" The armored knight nodded once and picked Shirou up, whispering what he probably considered soothing lines to him. "It'll be okay. I promise it'll get better." A aura of sunshine and sparkles surrounded him at the moment, and Shirou was more than a little afraid. What kind of knight is capable of giving that kind of aura?!

"Mission complete. Time to return." Akame declared as the Night Raid jumped off the wires and into the darkness of the streets below. Shirou sighed as he allowed himself to be carried along, 'Well, this certainly is the most backward of joining the Revolutionary Army.' He muttered as he watched the streets blur at the speed they were travelling at. He wondered what kind of life awaited him in this new world; he just hoped it wasn't like the Clock Tower and the politics again.

* * *

><p>First Night END<p> 


End file.
